10 Strategies to Drive Member & Event Engagement for Associations

Does your association have a successful member engagement strategy?

Many associations are challenged with engaging members on a consistent and ongoing basis beyond events. For most members, your events are your association and where your members engage with you and with one another.

But what about the rest of the year?

In this blog, Results Direct | RD Mobile shares essential tips for:

• Understanding your members’ engagement needs


• Driving greater member participation


• Engaging your members before, during, and after your events


• Leveraging the latest mobile and web technologies to drive engagement

  

Strategies you can implement now

Here are 10 Strategies that you can implement now to drive ongoing, year-round member and event engagement:

1. Leverage Multi-Channel Communications - Different people have different preferences when it comes to consuming information. While some of your members may read your emails, others may prefer short videos or social media feeds or mobile push notifications. A successful strategy connects you with your members through a variety of communication channels.
   
   
2. Get Personal - Personalization builds relationships with members, and you can leverage member data to curate experiences and target content for them. By recognizing the individual interests and generational preferences of members (Millennials, Gen X, Zoomers, Boomers), you demonstrate a commitment to their needs.
   
   
3. Facilitate Year-Round Networking & Community - Year-round networking opportunities enable members to drive the conversation and stay connected between events. Think beyond your website to use mobile-based tools for topical discussion groups or peer-to-peer information exchanges. By creating a sense of community, you get to keep members engaged with your organization and with one another even when they’re not face-to-face.
   
   
4. The Medium is the Message - Year-round networking opportunities enable members to drive the conversation and stay connected between events. Think beyond your website to use mobile-based tools for topical discussion groups or peer-to-peer information exchanges. By creating a sense of community, you get to keep members engaged with your organization and with one another even when they’re not face-to-face.
   
   
5. Deliver Content in the Format(s) That Members Want - We know that members consume content in different formats. While some prefer written articles or reports, others prefer short videos or audio podcasts. By providing them options, members will engage with your content (not Google’s) – on different devices and at different times and locations that suit them. 
   
   
6. Create Experiences - Your organization can leverage technology to enhance experiences – virtual and in-person – and create a lasting impact on members. Think outside the box to create culture and community through the exchange of digital business cards or social sharing at events. 
   
   
7. Incentivize Engagement - Incentivizing member engagement can boost participation and loyalty. Offer rewards and recognition to encourage networking through your mobile app at conferences. Award points for engaging with other attendees, through posts and digital card exchanges, and connections with exhibitors and sponsors. 
   
   
8. Engage Members Before, During & After Your Events - Engagement doesn’t have to start and end at your events. You can engage members through your mobile app beforehand by sharing exclusive content, mobile push notifications, and forums to connect with speakers and other attendees. Then extend engagement post-event by connecting members and promoting on-demand content, session recordings, career opportunities, and surveys.
   
   
9. Capture Moments of Time - Meeting the needs of members with different attention spans and limited time requires different strategies to engage them. Mobile-friendly content such as micro-learning, streaming video that’s consumable on the go, and push news about issues impacting members are perfect opportunities to capture moments of time in your members’ busy days. 
   
   
10. Create an Integrated Engagement Strategy - Creating a successful member and event engagement strategy means starting with the end in mind. Identify what “success” looks like (growing membership, increasing retention or revenue, advancing your industry), then determine the right mix of technologies and communication strategies to support those outcomes. A well-planned strategy can begin small and expand gradually to meet your members’ and your organization’s needs.
    
    

To hear more, you can access this brief recording from our recent Results Direct | RD Mobile  webinar: 

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Results Direct | RD Mobile  has worked with 100s of organizations to integrate mobile apps into their member engagement strategies. We're here to help you too: Schedule a meeting